Northern Illinois pulled off a massive upset and beat Notre Dame 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. on Saturday, and the win left Thomas Hammock emotional.
Hammock, who played running back at NIU from 1999-2002, broke down in tears during his postgame interview on NBC after pulling off the huge upset.
“I told them all week, we don’t need luck. We just gotta be our best. And it was their best today, and we were able to get it done,” Hammock said.
This is what it's all about.
NIU's @NIUCoachHammock is overcome with emotion after leading his team to the win at Notre Dame! @NIU_Football | @NIUAthletics | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/K7oS9tsrTC
— #MACtion (@MACSports) September 7, 2024
Hammock also had a great quote when he talked about his Huskies overcoming the odds to beat a big-name program.
“A lot of teams have the transfer portal but we have a family,” Hammock said.
That was a huge win for Northern Illinois and a huge upset suffered by Notre Dame. You could tell by his reaction just how much it meant to Hammock and his program.
Hammock has been the head coach at Northern Illinois since 2019 and has gone 26-33 during his tenure. But he sure seems to have his program heading in the right direction.
